


Grave Dirt

by zeo_nulla



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Body Horror, Creative uses for plants, Creepy Fluff, Dark fluff, Feeding, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Human to something else, Hypnotism, Kidnapping, Kinda?, Manipulative Behaviour, Meaning Plants are gonna probably kill people., Mind Manipulation, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Other, Panic Attacks, Steel wool posing as fluff, Stockholm Syndrome, Suicide Attempt, relationship with an eldritch creature
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2020-01-15 21:12:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18507181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeo_nulla/pseuds/zeo_nulla
Summary: Wirt had a lot of time to regret his decision as he was pressed with his back to a tree and his throat being crushed by two strong, cold and strangely texture-less hands, yet even now he was glad, he had finally been of use to his brother. Then the crushing of his windpipe stopped and he was bound to the tree by the strange roots.‘So, he is turning me into a tree to keep me forever…I mean that is his modus operandum I guess.’He did not expect the hands that had just been squeezing the life out of him to return to tenderly stroke bruised and mottled flesh.“Human’s are so breakable it is almost beautiful how feeble you are, Like flowers in grave dirt. Wilting when left unattended for too long.”





	1. Cyclamen

They wandered aimlessly.

At least that is what Wirt figured. After the betrayal of Beatrice, he knew two things: One, that they were stuck, and two, He was going to be a better brother.

It started out small, he was still having a hard time containing his anger at Greg’s antics at times but he knew that he had to keep his brother safe. So, when they finally found a tree to rest under, he bedded Greg in leaves and sang to him a little, lullabies mom would have sung if she were here.

 

“You’re a really good leader Wirt, we’ll be home in no time…”

The older boy held a sad smile on his face, one that the seventeen-year-old should not have had. He stayed awake through most of the night to keep watch his own hateful thoughts keeping him company.

If only he had been better to Greg, if only he was not such a coward with Sara, if only he had listened to his stepdad asking him to join marching band.

If only.

If only.

If only.

 

Now they were stuck and it was all his fault, his burden to bear. He saw his breath in the cold as the first flakes of frost began to settle across the forest.

“Tomorrow we had better find a town, maybe if we can retrace our steps from Potsfeild I can fix up the old mill and we can stay there…”

 As he turned over, he felt something sharp jab him from his pocket and pulled out the scissors.

The things that his so-called friend was going to sell them into slavery to a witch for.

He would have thrown them away had they not been gold plated, he could sell them for something at the very least.

With these thoughts, he slipped into a fitful slumber.

 

The next two days were more of the same, walking until they found a road, then walking on the road and sleeping in the woods and under bridges. He scavenged up what food he could and blessed his mother for making him go into boy scouts when he was younger. Knowing what berries were edible was a blessing for them, he saved the seeds hoping he could grow some form of food.

 

“Wirt, I’m really tired…Can we stop?”

It hurt a little to see Greg still flinched when asking him something but he sighed then smiled and sat on the ground patting his lap.

 

“Sure, we can, Come on. I’m probably a bit warmer than the ground, probably just as bumpy though.”

That made Greg giggle and it did too when Wirt bounced him in his lap to prove how bumpy he was.

After their rest, they got moving once more and hitched a ride with a farmer who was going to the tavern.

 

When they got to the tavern Wirt smiled a little to the smiles they got and the nods of others while they said “Pilgrim.” In greeting.

 

“So, Greg. My plan is to get a job here for a bit in the tavern. Just for the winter okay? Then we can keep going in spring, I just want you to stay safe. Plus. I can get you food this way.”  

 

Greg looked a little confused but smiled.

“do you think Beatrice will visit?”

Now Wirt had to try not to flinch, he put on his best fake smile and patted Greg on the head as hey entered the tavern.

“I think she is going to spend the winter with her family…That is good too right Greg?”

“Yeah, Wirt. That is great!”

* * *

 

The winter passed into spring and the boys had changed a little. Wirt had foregone his cap and cape. He wore dark black pants with matching suspenders and a white button up, he had gained more definition to his muscles given the manual labour he did for the Tavern keeper, he found he still remained baby smooth along his cheeks and jaw, but still he was okay with that now, a razor would cost money. He now wore a cloak made of raven feathers that had been given to him by Greg over Christmas. Greg never told him how he got it…but the Fletcher looked at him suspiciously all the time now.  

 

Greg had lost a bit of weight but remained plump and happy go lucky. He had a growth spurt and was more gangly now. He wore a new outfit of blue denim overalls and a white shirt and had ditched the kettle so they could sell it for a room the first night. Wirt had given him the scissors, he trusted Greg to be kind more than himself, even if being turned into a bird was truly a terrible thing, he would never give them to Beatrice, even if he knew that was wrong.

For Christmas Wirt had decided to make something and had asked the carver to teach him how to make a flute in exchange for running errands. It was not the most beautiful instrument, but Greg loved it and used it in the town square to play and earn money with him and his singing Frog that always had a new name.

By the time they had left for the old mill with their supplies, which included a meat grinder, a hoe, basic building materials, arrows, and a bow among other necessities they were chatting happily and smiling.

The unknown may have taken them from home, but it had brought them closer and for that Wirt was grateful. Sometime during early spring, he had noticed Greg no longer had the scissors but he did not press him as they made their way to the mill.

 

They found it in such a state of disrepair that Wirt knew he had his work cut out for him, as his brother tried to catch rain in pots and pans he was out in the denser parts of the woods, he had put markings on trees to guide him back but he knew he needed bark for shingling.

Pulling his cloak tight he began working on peeling bark from a tree not noticing the dark creeping up on him.

 

_“What do you think you are doing boy?”_

The baritone timbre of the voice sent a shiver through him as he turned to see who spoke, yet all there was were two lights in the darkness staring at him.

 

“I…I am just gathering bark for shingles…Sir?” For he really was not sure if this was a man or if he was something else, a strange creature of the unknown.

_“Child, go back to your home, your brother is in danger.”_

Wirt dropped his tools and ran, his pulse thudding as whatever had told him to find his brother laughed at his panic. He ran all the way to the mill and cried out for his brother who he saw was in the now swollen river, clinging to a branch as the cold rapids buffeted him. Ripping his brother from the icy grip of the tumultuous river he sprang forward taking long strides while tucking the shivering form close. He ripped the wet clothing from his brother and bundled him in blankets starting a fire.

“What possessed you to go near the river in this weather Greg?!”

 

The child whined softly as he was warmed and Wirt held him close, shaking at the thought of losing his brother.

“My frog…Hopped into the water…and I wanted to get him back…”

“Oh, Greg…”

He did not have it in him to be angry at his brother. Greg loved that frog and now it was gone.

When he got his brother warm and settled, he did need to go out to get his tools. The sun setting even behind the grey sky he walked to the woods and followed his markings.

 

_“I believe I am owed some recompense for helping you.”_

Wirt turned and saw peeking out from behind a tree the tallest figure he had seen, it was at least nine feet tall and all black, like it, was created of living shadows. A cape of shadow swirled around it’s form making it look like it glided instead of walking, from its head protruded a pair of antler-like branches that stretched into the shadow yet, the strangest and most beautiful were the eyes, creating their own light in the darkness yet refracting said light like a prism with each tilt of the head.

 

“what? Why?”  he uttered as he deep baritone of the creature finally registered.

 

_“Because my dear boy, if you don’t, I can guarantee your little brother will have more issues than not. It is just a small favour. There is a lantern sitting outside of a cave nearby I just need you to retrieve it for me.”_

Wirt knew the unknown was weird but he also knew that this creature could hurt his brother if he did not comply. He nodded his assent and excused himself to go get something first. Quickly he ran back to the mill and bundled Greg up, slinging him under the cloak on his back before returning to the creature.

_“I see you have taken the boy, paranoid, aren’t you?”_

 

He did not speak to it but followed it into the wood quietly, the silence was deafening his mind turning. Why did this creature need him to get a lantern? It was close so why did it not retrieve it itself? He pondered this as he wandered at a distance from the creature, its form seemed to absorb light which made him nervous but he wanted this thing to leave him and his brother alone knowing owing favours here could be dangerous.

As the cave came into view, he saw the lantern and as he walked over to grab it…Something swung at him the straps of rope he had used to keep his brother secure snapping.

“GREG!” Crying out and reaching for his brother he was confronted by a familiar voice.

“Boys? you still wander these woods?”

He knew that gruff voice anywhere and as the lantern was lifted, he saw the woodsman more gnarled and distant looking, the unknown had not been kind to him.

“I am sorry boy, Here, let me help you retrieve your…oh no…”

 

Lifting the dim light of the lantern Wirt could see strange roots covering Greg’s body. In desperation, he started pulling them off quickly as he could, yet more and more kept appearing. His heart plummeted and he looked at the near dying light of the lantern.

 

_“Give me the lantern woodsman.”_

The voice cut into the trees yet it sounded weak.

“No! I will no longer cut another tree; this is how they are made and my daughter would never want this!”

 

Wirt stood grabbing the lantern from the woodsman and clutching it with white knuckles.

“You made me come out here for this and now my brother is going to die!”

He screamed and opened the glass to blow it out. The Creature…the beast screamed at him to stop.

And the realization hit.

 

“…It is not the woodsman’s daughter; this is your soul isn’t it? you would not want it so bad if it was not…”

The woodsman looked flabbergasted and had ceased his struggle to try and get the lantern back from Wirt, staring at the beast who chuckled like a north breeze.

_“true it may be, but that will not save your brother…However”_

Wirt glared at those eyes and took a step forward.

_“I can send him back to the normal world, I just need a trade, an exchange.”_

Wirt could not believe it but wanted it so much to be true he stopped advancing, barely registering that the woodsman was screaming at him not to listen.

 

_“For your brother to return, you must stay. For eternity. You will be mine forever unlike the souls passing through you will be stuck.”_

“So, not only am I selling my soul…But also my freedom to you?

 

The beast nodded and swirled around him like mist.

 

“I will do it…If I never have to cut down a tree or end a life unwillingly, there will be no tricks or lies from you…And I want to know full well my brother is safe. I will send him back with you.”

 

The laughter he heard nearly stopped his heart.

_“Such a clever young man. Very well. I can see to it that all those demands are met.”_

The Beast slid over to the brambles and waved his hand, they began to decay off of Greg and Wirt looked over at the woodsman, reduced to sobbing and incoherently muttering about how he had been an unwitting slave…He felt bad for the man, but he had his brother to save, so he said farewell and sorry, though it was probably not enough for the poor soul, and followed the Beast as it carried his brother and he carried the lantern.

* * *

 

The beast did not need paths, no, it just flicked its hand and the trees parted he finally saw a light and there, was the old cemetery of his hometown…He could see a funeral though he did not know for who. Greg had opened his eyes and Wirt cried and held him.

“Greg, you are gonna go home, you will be okay. I love you so much.”

As the boy, who was very sick now stumbled into the light and there were cries of joy he noticed two things, that his brother had not followed him and was back in the woods with a dark shadowy creature, a pitch-black hand on his brother’s shoulder.

And that the Names on the graves were: Gregory Roberts and Walter Roberts.

He collapsed into the arms of his mother as his brother was led back into the unknown.

* * *

 

Wirt had a lot of time to regret his decision as he was pressed with his back to a tree and his throat being crushed by two strong, cold and strangely texture-less hands, yet even now he was glad, he had finally been of use to his brother. Then the crushing of his windpipe stopped and he was bound to the tree by the strange roots.

‘So, he is turning me into a tree to keep me forever…I mean that is his modus operandum I guess.’

He did not expect the hands that had just been squeezing the life out of him to return to tenderly stroke bruised and mottled flesh.

_“Human’s are so breakable it is almost beautiful how feeble you are, Like flowers in grave dirt. Wilting when left unattended for too long.”_

Wirt felt those hands press against his own in a strange juxtaposition to compassion that this creature obviously did not feel.

_“Well, let us begin.”_

Wirt could only open his mouth to scream as roots took off his fingernails and started seeping under the bleeding skin. One by one. Pinky to the thumb, left to right.

God, the burn was unbearable and he felt like he was going to vomit, between his screaming and crying and begging he chanced a look at one of his hands, he saw the tips of his fingers had blackened like permanent goth nail polish and vine’s zigzagged under his skin.

That is when he did throw up. The Beast looked nothing more than pleased and the lantern shattered bursting into flames on the ground as if the soul was that had once dimly resided there was now too strong for its confines. The vines snapped off and swirled under his skin, becoming a permanent addition to him as he slumped against the tree, falling to the ground as his binding’s loosened.

He was in too much pain and shock to register the hand running through his hair. Or the deep baritone that sang him into a dreamless slumber.

 

_“Welcome to eternity.”_


	2. velvet flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interlude and meanings.  
> What is the patch of Brambles?  
> What Will become of Wirt?   
> What Is happening in the unknown?

He gasped and threw himself into wakefulness, the events of the day prior buzzing in his mind like a swarm of hornets that he wanted dreadfully to shake off. His eyes opened once than twice, then in rapid succession as he tried to understand where he was. The beast had done something to him for sure, though he did not know what yet. He was achingly sore and he wanted to just lay back down and sleep, there was no time for that though.

Getting up he observed his new surroundings and grimace there was a circle all around him of briars and thorns that caged him and kept him close. He had been sleeping upon a bed of white flowers that he now smelled like and it was dark, so achingly dark. He wanted to cry and plead but screwed up his face and tried his best to stay determined, if not for himself then for his brother who he had sold his life for.

In the distance, he could hear rustling and he cried out toward it.

“Hello? Can you help me? I am stuck in these brambles and I can’t get out!”

He heard a woman`s voice that was soft and kind that slowly spoke to him through the thickets, it was like a strange game of warmer and colder where he would call out and the woman would rustle through the undergrowth even more.

“Oh my, you poor darlin’! how in the world did a young man like yourself get stuck in these briars? Don`t worry hun, I got myself a hunting knife, I will try and cut you out.”

 

He could hear the hacking sound of a knife in the thorns and he tried to make conversation with the woman.

“Can’t talk too much love, these thickets are tough as nails. You can call me Cam though, Short for Camilla, you know like the tea. I actually am a herbalist by trade here and Your hollering brought me over. Don’t worry. I will getcha out dear.”

Between the huffing of exhaustion and the swinging of the knife against the thickets, he got a few more tidbits: The woman said she lived alone and was on her route to town when she heard him off the path. She also said that these brambles were like nothing she had ever seen before, then there was something that lightened the mood; her offering to give him a tea reading later. Now that made him smile a little, he might not believe in that sort of thing, but it was so unlike what his stepdad and mother would have been okay with, he was grateful for that new perspective that the unknown brought, not all witches or people who practised paganism were good or bad, they were people who could be either like anyone else, the differences between Adelaide and Auntie whispers was shocking to him at first but he soon found it was just the way people were.

 

He found himself sitting in his thoughts for just a bit longer than usual and tried to make conversation to the person outside his cage once more.

“Any luck with the brambles ms. Camilla?”

The silence was stunning him out of his thoughts, he had not heard a struggle or anything of the sort…Had he just imagined her?

“Ms Camilla?”

Nothing but silence and the wind responded and he could no longer hold in the tears as all the events crashed down upon him. He did not notice the flowers blooming within his cage, brambles adorned with blood red flowers as he curled further into his despair thinking madness had come to him much too soon.

* * *

 

The woman’s body hung from its neck, impaled with blood-soaked brambles the roots quickly twisted over and absorbed the flesh and blood, consuming it like fire does to dry tinder. The star shapes of the new red flowers adorning the brambles dipped over the form of the beast as it watched with satisfaction.   

The woman had been focused so on Wirt that she had not even noticed his approach which meant her dying scream was quite muffled. Though it would be better it was for the moment, as he did not really wish Wirt to know the nature of the cage just yet.

That would ruin the surprise after all.

 

With a flick of his hand, the brambles parted and he glided forward, a graceful motion like skimming the surface of the water, the beast did not look to walk but seemed to merge with the earth.

And upon entry, he found what he saw interesting for lack of any other idea of what to think of what he saw.

 

Wirt curled up in a ball amidst baby’s breath, petals strewn in his hair, his face flushed from crying and his eyes ringed with red. He must have cried so hard in the past few minutes his body just could not cope with being awake.

 

The beast observed before making some alterations then took his leave from the prison.

* * *

 

The dream started simply, It was him in an empty dark room. He was calling out for someone, anyone to help him, that is when he saw  Greg and his parents walking hand in hand, far off but he knew they could see him. He tried to move but found his legs being sucked into the dark floor.

It was like a tarpit was trying to consume him.

And he saw his family: walking away.

The tears came easily as a brook bending out from a pond, He was so alone.

**You have always been alone.**

He wanted to refute that, but images played through his mind of him sitting alone at lunch, watching others play and laugh. Sara Choosing to be with Jason and spend time with him that night, being put in the back of the class due to there being no space at the front. Watching as his half brother received more affection from his mother while he was left as the second choice, His mother looking at him like he was just a painful reminder of some mistake. His heart lurched painfully in his chest. He was the second best. Always the last to be picked.

“Please…stop…”

He croaked as the blackness consumed him and he was being cradled within it. breathing it in and out as it held him in a soft velvet embrace.

**You won't be a second choice anymore Walter, Now. Wake up.**    

He fell onto soft moss with a dull thud. It did not really hurt and his eyes fluttered open.  The brambles around him had somehow formed a bed or bowl-like structure out of roots, the inside was soft moss lined with the same white flowers. The ground had changed too, it was moss lined and spongey. Above him hung the brambles, but lined with red cherry looking fruits and even redder flowers.

“I feel like this is some twisted trick…First the dream then the nice stuff just appearing.”

He felt a strange sensation in his chest and gripped at it. panic seizing him as he opened the buttons gaping at what he saw.

It was like when you put a flashlight over your hand and saw the light filter through. Except instead of being red or pink light, it was blue and white. Then just as soon as he saw it, the light faded. Leaving him to grip the moss with now black fingernails.

“when…did those grow back…God…What is happening to me?”

He wobbled about his cage and watched as the plants on the brambles seemed to follow him like sunflowers follow the sun.

 

“Great, I'm already crazy, a grade A nutcase. Good work Wirt.”

He decided to take some time to inspect himself; starting with his new nails.

“Okay, These are a bit sharper and I look like I got ink spilt on myself…let’s see…”

He gripped into one of the Brambles and watched his new nails sink into it like a knife in butter before he yelped and withdrew.

“Okay, so no messing with these got it.”

The next thing he checked was his arms, which looked normal other than faint trails that looked like lighter scar tissue running over his arms in vine patterns.

Checking his chest and legs revealed the same light markings.

 

“Okay, I am okay…well mostly. I am still being held prisoner by some eldritch creature of the night…but I mean…I am not too altered or crazy yet I think?”

He said this while watching one of the flowers and he reached out to it.

Like a cat coming to rest it landed itself on his outstretched palm, the gentle touch felt like velvet and had him instinctively shuddering away from it as he remembered his dream.

 

“Nope, okay, nope. That is too weird and I  am not eating the fruit either. Besides. Humans die without water and food…So I Guess that is my failsafe.”

He could only chuckle without mirth.

“Sorry I could not see you grow up Greg, I bet you would have helped a whole lot of people…”

 

He curled up once more trying to ignore the plants and wrapped himself in the cloak his brother had made for him, it only made him cry bitterly that this was it. He would die here alone and unloved and this monster would not care, no one would care.

He closed his eyes and welcomed the escape of sleep.

* * *

 

**“sleeping once more hmm? Well, this is more pleasant than the futile begging and anger I thought you would have…But hoping for death already?”**

They could not help but laugh at this, this boy thinking he could escape just yet.  Still, they took the time to taint more dreams and used those to hold the boy under in sleep long enough to feed him and give him something to drink before laying a red bushy flower beside him.

 

**“Perhaps soon we will have an actual conversation about what your role is, but for now you need to get accustomed so I will leave you once more.”**

 

The darkness surrounding the boy was total and the woods of the unknown groaned with effort.

Something was changing in this unchanging world, for the first time in a long time.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, All you lovelies who have commented! I wanted to first off thank you for your kind comments and secondly let you know a few things;  
> 1: I will reply to you don't worry I just take a bit.   
> 2: Updates to all my stories generally come monthly  
> 3: I wanna make this kinda Grimm brothers esque but I love flower symbolism so maybe look up some things if you like a good mystery!  
> 4: This chapter is a sort of interlude so it is a bit on the shorter side.   
> I hope you all had a great day and a big thanks to two of my discord friends who offered to be sacrificed to the beast!   
> I Hope you are Pleased Cam. I drew into a random death generator and got decapitation.


	3. Monkshood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hatred can often lead to folly.  
> (WARNING!! GORE AND MENTAL TAMPERING!!)

Wirt tried to wander in the light parts of his dreams, he wanted his memories to be good however they were anything but, it seemed the light was not kind to him.

_You are nothing._

_You never had any purpose._

_Look, it is that Wirt kid. His mom ditched him to pick up his brother again._

_How pathetic._

_What kind of nerd actually likes poetry?_

_Hey WIRTLESS that should be your nickname!_

 

Wirt could only run from the faceless phantoms of his past. He knew he was messed up he did not need more confirmation of that. He skidded down the endless woods of his dreams tears flowing down now rosy cheeks with the exhaustion he felt.

It was day three of his imprisonment and he had not eaten or drunk anything, despite his captor leaving him berries and honeycomb as well as water. This was a fight he knew he had to lose. He never saw the beast,  he knew it was the shadow of the woods though, the creature of the night that was trying to keep him from death.

He had fallen unconscious he knew that, shouldn’t he be dead now…or was this hell?

Because he sold his sold to a devil.

He continued to run even as the shadows contorted into creatures with claws and teeth to rip into his flesh. He stumbled over nothing and fell to his knees with a cry of pain, he could feel their breath down his neck, it smelled of sulfur and burning forests.

 

**“Stay away from me!”**

 

He could feel the force of his cry and he could no longer smell the scent of sulfur, no he smelled copper and as he looked up he screamed once more with horror.

“Mom…greg…sara…No…NO!”

Each of their heads was skewered upon pikes made of thorns, bright red flowers blooming from each one, the mouth of his beheaded mother opened up and began to move grotesquely as though vines puppeteered her jaw in death, Wirt looked on in fear as her voice whispered to him, dripping with malice.

_“You were a mistake, If I never had you then I could have remarried happily. Why do cause so much trouble? Why can’t you be sweet like Greg? You just remind me of your no good father, you are only meant to cause me pain, just like he did.”_

His mother’s mouth soon filled with black dripping tar and flowers of the brightest deepest red began to grow from her now unhinged jaw as Sara began to speak.

_“Why couldn’t you leave me alone? You were so pathetic, always following me or your brother around. You could never think for yourself, Look at you, do you think I would ever like you? You never were anything special just an annoyance that kept hanging around.”_

Wirt winced as her eyes ruptured into blackness and red blooms, they overtook her eyes until he could no longer remember the colour they had once been as black tar trailed down from her flower-filled sockets like tears.

_“Wirt…”_

“Please…Greg don't…not you too…”

He was crying and gripping the ground with rough nails, not wanting this for his little brother…the only one he thought actually liked him no matter what.

_“You never liked me, you only did all that to make yourself feel better. You are not a hero, you are not a good person. No one liked you, I didn’t like you, but Dad always told me to be nice to you.”_

 

“Greg…no I-I love you don’t…”

Wirt watched and tried in vain to get up and help his brother as he saw tar leaking from his ears and small shoots begin to grow, but he was anchored to the spot, unable to move or help. Useless.

_“You always told me I was stupid, or made fun of me, you got us lost and hurt me so much You only became kind to ease your own guilt and I hate you.”_

The entire face and skull of his younger brother ruptured in front of him, sending out bone fragments and bits of grey matter as the red flowers bloomed from his ears and he was overtaken by the flowers.

“No…It is not true…”

* * *

 

He could no longer hold it in and began to wail bitterly, barely noticing the world around him shift. He could not help the tears rolling down his cheeks as he breathed heavily, his body felt like it was weighed down with lead and his arms felt like they were on fire, but he began to calm down. He felt something gently carding through his hair…and he leaned into it, he wanted to be comforted so badly right now.

He wanted to open his eyes because he knew who it was the moment they started to speak to him, but he just felt too weak to even bother.

**“Are you quite done trying to end your life? It was rude of you to not  accept my gifts you know.”**

Wirt could not manage a retort so he lulled his head to one side. The pain in his arms increased slightly but he noticed he felt less heavy now and let his eyes flutter open only to feel an upheaval of regret.

He was encompassed in the beast’s shadowy presence, spindly fingers running through his hair in some strange dance, like that of a spider upon a fly. A glance down at his arms showed dark vines under his pale skin pumping him with either poison or nutrients…perhaps both, he wanted to tear them out however a hand to his throat held him in a moment and the Beast shone its lamp-like eyes upon him.

**“I have no issues feeding you like this, though I assumed it would be too ‘intimate’ for you. Still, you rejected human food so really what else am I to do?”**

The monster seemed amused at Wirt’s expense and chuckled deeply as he tried to squirm. The vines in his arms constricted him and he fell back against his captor with a cry of pain.

The beast resumed it’s petting of Wirt’s hair and seemed pleased with something.

**“I saw you had a nightmare. You were shifting within your slumber. You are fortunate I happen to like you, young man.”**

 

“I hate you.”

He spat this back with so much vitriol, yet the creature above him chuckled and continued to caress his locks while he was forced to “eat” whatever poison he was offered by this eldritch being.

He wanted to continue his glaring, he wanted to fight but he was exhausted and being coaxed into sleep once more.

**“For now it is fine if you hate me, it won’t last little seed.”**

* * *

He felt safe and warm this time, though he did not know why.

Wirt walked past the corpses of monsters and loved ones that had become part of a bloody garden. He wanted to will his body to stop but it would not, instead, he continued to move forwards deep into the darkness where instead of cruel shouting that he had in the light of his dreams he was enveloped in sweet whispers.

**“You are safe”**

**“come a small one, you are welcome here.”**

**“Do you know you are lovely?”**

**“Look at how the flowers bloom for you.”**

As he walked down the path in the darkness he saw each of his footfalls was filled in with small white flowers.

“I am…safe In the dark?”

He looked around his dream, and it was true, no monsters hurt him, he was protected by walls of thorns and flowers within the dark. He sat in the dark and curled up.

“Why? Why can’t I be in the light?”

The answer came with a soft caress to his cheek.

**“Have those in the light ever showed you kindness?”**

He struggled to remember something good, but all he could find were bitter memories and he bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes once again today.

“I…don't know.”

**“Shhh, hush small seed. You are safe here.”**

Wirt wanted to see who was comforting him, he just could not see past the shadows yet as he was still adjusting to the light.

Images passed in front of him instead.

Sara, the girl who hated him

His mother, the woman who never wanted to see him out of hate for another and love for another.

Greg…the boy, he sacrificed for who did not even care! His own brother!

He felt himself grow angry, and though a small part of him screamed not to he squashed it down. These people were supposed to care for him, but the hadn’t, they had left him and cast him aside.

“I HATE YOU! I TRIED SO HARD!! WHY DID NONE OF YOU LOVE ME?”

He slammed his fists to the ground as he screamed and shook.

“No one else loved me…why did no one love me? I tried so hard…”

**“Hush, I will care for you now. Put them out of your mind. You are mine now are you not?”**

“I don’t know who’s I am. I just want someone to actually love me, it hurts so much.”

**“Hand me your memories and I will be able to keep you safe.”**

Wirt was too far gone by now, his mind muddled from exhaustion, starvation, thirst and the poison pumped into him. He nodded consent and heard a familiar laugh as the world of his dreams contorted into just shadows, no light for the creatures that hurt him to enter.

And if memory’s of his loved ones were only bitter and twisted, he was none the wiser now.

* * *

 

A dark glee shone In the Beast’s bright eyes as Wirt slackened within his arms, The boy was not smart enough when deprived of certain faculties to know what was going on within his subconscious, what he had just bargained away. Really though, It would make it all the easier on Wirt to only know the evil of humans, after all, Wirt was becoming less of one each day here.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea if this translates well from my mind, but...I was feeling a particular bout of negativity and this is just the place for it.  
> I hope certain plot points are making sense to you all and I am not just screaming into the void.  
> Regardless, HAPPY END OF MAY!  
> It is almost summer! WOOO!  
> (Props to the people who understand my weird chapter titling scheme.)  
> until next month, see you later!


	4. Amaranthus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The angels have gone  
> The songs have gone silent  
> You're sinkin' like a stone before the tide  
> The river runs cold, the fight is over  
> Still the haunted ruins of night call your name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !WARNING!  
> Mental and physical manipulation! 
> 
> Well, now let me lay out my cards...I have some folklore roots (HA PUNS!) that I like to lay for my stories, so I think all you folklore nerds will love this because I do!  
> Happy Day before Canada day!  
> Now, what is going to happen to Wirt?  
> (looking at the tags.)  
> Ohhhh riiiggghhht!~  
> Good luck boyo!

_He lurks out there in the unknown,_

_Seeking those who are far from home,_

_Hoping NEVER to let you return._

 

The days were a haze now to Wirt, it became hard to differentiate between days. He knew time must be passing but he was constantly exhausted.

The constant sleeping meant he would often wake as the Beast “fed” him. It finally got to him that the one day he was awake while the Beast was there, he ripped bright red fruits off the vine and tried to eat them all at once.

It was difficult to stomach them as he had not eaten solids in so long and the Beast had glided over and got him to sit, slowly feeding him one fruit at a time in tiny bites.

Wirt noticed the blackened insides of the fruit, like a dark cherry of some sort, also he felt the strange metallic tang should bother him more for some reason but he could not fully place why.

It was odd because he really liked the taste of the fruit for some reason, even as it made his mind feel slightly hazy, he could not stop himself from taking another bite.

 

The day he escaped had been a fluke.

It was the same as any other day, just with no appearance from his jailer. It had taken time but he was able to use his talons…because that is what his nails reminded him of now. To cut out a small enough hole for him to wriggle through. It was actually a tighter squeeze then he thought it would have been, apparently eating solids again had gotten him to a fuller figure once more. Yet he had managed and was almost giddy like a child who had gotten away with doing something wrong under the watchful eye of a parent.

He was almost to a dirt road when vines and brambles snared him and even though he struggled they held fast. He knew who had done this given that these thorned brambles had just popped up seemingly out of nowhere.

_“Ah, Wirt. How you constantly enjoy to subvert my expectations.”_

Wirt was struggling as he felt the cold of the other’s presence upon him, his heart racing as those bright swirling eyes met him and he felt his ability to speak stolen as his chin was grabbed and a red berry was pressed past his lips.

He could not fight his instinct and bit down. Mind instantly feeling less sharp as he tried to remember what was going on, a soft whine escaping his lips as his chin was pulled up more harshly to meet the gaze of the night king once more.

“ _I am going to have to be more vigilant in feeding you, but you are not to forget to eat from now on. Understood?”_

That voice wormed its way into his mind and stayed at a constant. He followed the Beast back to his cage without complaint and sat on the moss looking up at his captor, mind caught at the moment by his meal and whatever magic sway his captor’s eyes held on him.

They had really pretty eyes.

That thought made him giggle a little, it felt like something someone else had said in an equally terrible scenario.

_“wirt.”_

His eyes snapped up to the Beast and he held the gaze. His mind felt like it was full of cotton.

_“Now how shall I punish you? It will be lessened by your obedience now; however, you do need to be punished.”_

That made another whine escape him. He did not want to be punished yet he knew it was going to happen.

The Beast produced a small black turtle from somewhere beyond him and peeled off its shell as the thing squirmed its grip.

_“open your mouth.”_

He could not do this, that thing was still alive! He vaguely remembered an old woman eating these and how horrendous she had looked, crooked broken teeth, blackened gums and tongue. his jaw refused for a moment longer before the beast put one finger under his chin and lifted it to meet his gaze.

“ _Now what did I say? This is your punishment don’t make me force feed it to you. Open your mouth and be good.”_

Well, that was all it took for him to open his mouth and try not to scream as the creature morphed into something darker, eyes and tendrils swirling on his pallet as it slid into his mouth and down his gullet, his stomach burned and he felt as if he was dying. His mind felt sharp for a bit longer…though under the beast’s gaze he now felt a haze no matter what.

Like a voice ordering him to obey no matter what.

_“for now, this will do. Sleep.”_

He wanted to refuse yet he could not fight the fog of his mind. He laid himself down and whined softly as he felt whatever it was squirming in his stomach, it felt like he was being infected and invaded by an unknown virus as he fell into a feverish sleep.

 

* * *

 

The beast watched and could not help but chuckle. Two more years had passed and Wirt had grown into quite the handsome young man, leaving the circle a bit early was not too terrible, though it would not do for that to happen again, The Beast was not overly fond of dealing with an aged man again. So, it would do well to keep him here until he was finished.

That being said Wirt must be more starved for companionship than they thought if the young man was giving in, although under the influence of two different forms of manipulation it was different than when he had first caught the lad. The young man was struggling less with him and more accepting of small gestures.

It was not the worst, considering it would make him easier to transport.

_“I wonder how many souls you can trap? It will be a delight to see, even if it is an accident.”_

A deep baritone held Wirt’s dreams captive that night.

* * *

 

The Beast had woken him up one morning and he immediately reached out and ate some fruit. It made him feel a little giddy like he was drunk. He vaguely remembered it being worse at some point.

Maybe that is why his tongue is black.

“What do you want? I haven’t done anything wrong this time have I?”

He spoke with some snark, even in his fear he did not bow before the Beast unless forced to.

Today was one of those days he was forced to. He was told to look up and his brain filled with cotton, he could vaguely register being led elsewhere but was still unsure of what was happening.

A massive blackened Tree loomed before them, it looked like the world tree from Norse legend, yet straight from the abyss, its trunk parted open for them. He remembered being put into a strange room and sat upon an actual bed, it was so surreal.

He watched as the Beast closed in on him then gently with the grace of a shadow leaned to his ear and whispered to him.

 

_“Happy twentieth birthday in your world, welcome to mine and eternity little seedling.”_

His mind started to recover as he went over the last three years.

Three hypnotized and addled years where he was trapped in something akin to a fairy circle from legend.

And now he had left it and stopped ageing.

Was he even human anymore?

 


	5. Petunia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Attempted suicide.  
> The separation of a mind and a need for love in a cold place brings Wirt to the brink.  
> Welcome and hail a new king.
> 
> I want to apologize if this is a little janky, I am using a tablet to update soo, this could be a mess by now! I apologize for any mistakes, I just wanted to update something.  
> You know Wirt has gotten to a point where he is lucid enough to be desperate once more. I want to let you know he is thoroughly not okay.
> 
> (Fun fact! I used my own panic attacks to model Wirt's meltdown! So the logic may not seem sound, but anyone who has had a bad attack knows that in retrospect, it never seems that way.)

All around him was the seamless texture of bark, black though it may be. He had scratched deep into any place in the new jail he had been imprisoned within, the marks brought him some level of satisfaction.  
It would make him more satisfied to do so to the Beast himself so dark was his dislike for him, and speak or think of the devil and he doth appear.  
Because now in a formed doorway that closed seamlessly behind them was the monster, the creature that spelt doom to his humanity.  
He dared not look at those eyes knowing they would do something to him. Even as a roiling in the back of his mind told him to gaze directly into those eyes…he knew he was infected with the beast’s dark magics, he remembered being much too compliant after the…turtle, it was not really a turtle though, no, it had been some disgusting creature of madness and nightmares that were now swirling around inside him.

  
_“Ah now, Back to acting stubborn and childish little seedling?”_

  
Wirt looked at the floor and hoped he could only glare holes into the finely polished surface that was covered in deep crimson carpets that had the symbols of trees all over them, his bed similarly was decked out to look like something out of a gothic novella, four-poster, red silk curtains and sheets and dark wood.  
The beast did not like being ignored, but Wirt was trying his darndest to do such, ignoring any attempts to speak to him or to feed him, even the things he missed greatly like bread or honey were ignored now, even though he may want them, he knew that his personal monster knew this and was just trying to tempt him into eating once more.

  
“What would the point be? Eating is for living creatures.”

  
He unknowingly muttered this and could not stop what happened next, the movement was too sudden.  
He was forced onto his back and the beast was looming over him. Eyes blazing while his sleepily drooped. He tried to force out the fog but it enveloped his mind as the beast looked at him and sang, he never knew the beast sang to do this to him as well…he had such a deep voice.  
Easy for anyone to get lost in.

* * *

 

The Beast reached out now and took Wirt’s face in its hands.

  
_“There we are, nice and compliant now are you not? Sit up.”_

  
Wirt obeyed though he wobbled a little, refusing to eat once more, quite pathetic yet in its own way frustratingly smart.  
Wirt somehow could sense he could still die and was obviously taking advantage of that. After all, the young man had yet to set his power into motion, meaning he was still mortal.  
Reaching over to the tray by Wirt’s bedside, strawberries and whipped cream, honey and peaches sat in wooden bowls with a dainty silver three-pronged fork resting beside the bowls.  
The beast punctured a bright red berry and dipped it in the cream before placing it against Wirt's mouth.

  
“ _Regardless of how much you will hate me later, you will eat now. That’s it. Take a bite.”_

  
The young man was coaxed into eating but his eyelids fluttered and a soft sound of delight over the taste was uttered making the monster laugh softly.

_“There you are, it would be so simple if you were obedient always, though I do find delight in your sass, less of that martyr complex you seem to have. Honestly, such a pain you can be, yet here I am taking care of you so well.”_

  
This was punctuated by the beast feeding Wirt more fruits, Wirt himself smiled softly and looked up at the beast, he looked positively angelic and pure, his face has never lost it’s soft boyish charm.

“Thank you.”

The Beast stopped and peered at Wirt who opened his mouth like a chick waiting on its mother to feed it. This, however, had never happened before, no one had responded to him while entranced, let alone to thank him and he placed a strawberry upon Wirt’s tongue before the young man bit down, a little cream decorating his lips.

  
_“Now then, I never gave you permission to speak, even enchanted you are quite stubborn…though that in its own right is quite interesting. Ah, Seedling, you are quite messy now.”_

  
A soft groan of delight left Wirt as he finished being fed and he looked at the beast, his conscious self really wanted to hate the Beast, but this him, the dreamer knew this was the one that saved him from his nightmares and fears. Why would he hate the king of the night who helped him so?

  
“sorry.”

The soft smile that decorated those lips so, did something to them, though their arrangement should be beneficial for both parties…They wanted to keep that smile all for their own. Standing they pulled Wirt along behind them. The way becomes clear for them as wood parted fluidly before the king of decay and death Who led his entranced cohort across the way, it was dim and lit only with hanging oil lanterns however Wirt squinted in the light of the open roman bath he was presented to.  
And what a sight it was, columns of carved black wood trees holding up rocks which had steamy water cascading down them into the pool below, which due to the ceiling having such bright light of which he could not discern where it was coming from and the water being in a black basin, the water looked like the night sky.  
dark as night with stars swirling in it.  
He vaguely remembered giving up his clothing to the Beast before dipping into the warm water. When the nightmare creature left he became lucid again…and he was a mixture between embarrassed, confused and of course. Angry.

* * *

 

There he was pacing in the deep water with a wave of deep boiling anger, trapped in a large bath…being seen naked by that..that well BEAST!  
Those thoughts are what had him pounding his fist angrily against the carved wooden trees, which he figured were alive as the rest of the tree. He aimed most of his angry pounding on the centre tree that was holding nothing, it was merely ornamental it seemed, though it did sport a bench around it.  
“Why.”  
**BANG**  
“Can’t”  
**BANG**  
“I”  
**BANG**  
“BE”  
**BANG**  
**“** DEAD?”

  
With that last hit, he slumped against the tree weeping into it’s dead blackened bark.

  
“It is not fair, no one wanted me, now I am not allowed to end my suffering…I just want the abyss of death, asleep where the beast cant wake me from, where no one can hurt me anymore.”

  
He took a moment and looked up.  
“oh…”

  
He began laughing in hysterics as he looked at the rocks suspended in branches, moving towards them and shaking the trees, banging and pounding on trunks while standing beneath the very epicentre where he hopefully could be crushed to death.  
A manic smile crossed his lips as bits of debris started to tumble slowly but surely.  
He could still end it all, end the pain he continued to go through knowing no one loved him back home or here, he was an unwanted, unloved child, no one had missed him.  
He never even saw Beatrice again, his so-called friend who had used him.

  
“I just want the nightmare of life to be over.”

  
Yes, truly he must be terrible if the beast had it’s hold on him if he was to become something inhuman he would rather die by his own hand than live by the mercy of something like the beast.

  
“It can find someone else…ah.”

  
He closed his eyes as the first rock tumbled toward him, the size of a watermelon, the others soon cascading after that, he waited for pain and slow death, but minutes then at least a half an hour passed…was he already dead? He opened his eyes to stumble back into the water with a yelp a net of black brambles holding up the rocks as he was stared at by two large unblinking eyes.

  
_“Foolish one, do you think I want anyone other than you? There is a reason I made that deal with you, look.”_

  
A hand pointed over to the decorative tree he had been beating upon and Wirt gaped.  
There standing with almost glowing white bark was the tree, flowers illuminating the space making the water around it look like a spiral galaxy aflame with luminescence

  
_“ I may be of winter and Autumn, for I am death and decay. Yet you are summer, and spring; rebirth and warmth. Do not be foolish, this world has been without those for too long. Now. Come here and get dressed.”_

  
Wirt numbly followed orders, not due to being entranced, but being in shock…he…made something so beautiful…he did not understand. Even as the Beast slipped a silken white robe over him and a silver circlet of leaves and flowers on his hair he remained numb.

“ _Hmmm, I suppose I shall just have to carry you.”_

  
Wirt clung to the Beast now, big tears blurring his vision.

  
“D-did you really mean you only wanted me?”

  
_“I did Indeed, now hush.”_

  
Wirt wept and the Beast grinned.  
They had never really been all that far, but knowing what was making Wirt try to off himself, and correcting it would make everything easier…perhaps there would be some perks to this later.  
Besides, it was not a lie or a trick, he truly did only want Wirt, the boy was one of the few that could house the flame and be fine due to a few key factors such as a living body and pure heart in a land of in-betweens.  
The Beast stroked Wirt’s hair delicately.

  
_“Do not fear little one, I will keep you quite safe from now on, if you can promise to stop trying to hurt or kill yourself I will forever be with you.”_

  
_Wirt cried a little less and sniffled out a weak,_

  
“okay. I promise.”

  
And that had the Beast singing with delight.

 

* * *

 


	6. Snapdragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wander, and become more tangled.  
> Belive the lies told to you.  
> The lies are soft and easy.  
> The truth is sharp and will cut you.  
> I will rest you upon my blanket of lies.  
> Until they all come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, how deep do you think it goes? because we getting to manipulation territory even more than before.  
> but Wirt is just accepting it now.  
> Will he forever?  
> great questions.  
> Please feed me comments to fuel my lantern so I can keep existing in this mortal plane.

Wirt clung to his captor as his only anchor to this world.

The only constant he now knew. Days sifted by like grains of sand in an hourglass and he began to notice small things…like the window in his room appearing, it was like a lattice of night ebony that only let in filtered sunlight.

 He could not blame the Beast for having this blockade on the window, he was still not trustworthy given his record for trying to off himself. Still, the warmth of the sun was appreciated even in this almost unending cycle of winter and autumn.

 

He woke in the morning like any other now, gently cradled in dark silks and fur’s covering his bed that the Beast had seen fit to drape him with, he could almost remember the chill that ran through him when the Beast gifted him these offerings. _“You look well covered in their death.”_

Though even though it had made his heart run cold, something else ran through him at that. A strange thrill that only the morbidity of his only companion brought about.

He rubbed his eyes heading to the desk next to the window to write some poetry, that was another thing the dark king had given him, Ink, quills and paper made of birch bark.  

It was to alleviate his boredom and keep him from asking the beast what he did when he left the tree, his gilded cage that he could not escape even if he wanted to.

 

What could he do? He could not run from the Beast now.

He was stuck.

That was fine though.

He did not want to escape anymore.

He just wished he did not feel so empty, it had gotten to a point where he almost wished the Beast would drug him again to take the edge off of him. The only time he felt okay and not numb was when he looked into the Beast’s eyes and could almost feel that fire within them blazing in his own veins, marching to the same constant beat.

 

Sighing heavily, he passed the window only to take pause.

 

“What? A…What…?”  

 

Looking below he saw the forest that normally looked of decay or white with the blanket of death melting into something he thought he would never see again.

Shoots of green grass peeking through a thin layer of white, not brown…no, green and fresh and….

“Alive.”  

He breathed out that word like one whisper a prayer his eyes tearing up. He wanted to be less happy, but something in him made him delight in this new sight.

Spring was a privilege he had taken for granted before, but no more. He wanted to greet this beautiful day and sat right beside the window, looking out and writing happy poems as the unknown met its first spring in aeons.

* * *

 

It was warmer than most of their autumns.

They took note of this as they siphoned oil from one of their tree’s, which groaned in anguish as it felt its sorrow-filled soul drip into a fine wine bottle.

_“Do be quiet…You have no need to fear anymore. Just be glad I no longer have to resort to having someone chop you down.”_

That stilled the rustle in its leaves.

Having Wirt, a human to sustain them truly had been a good choice. There was less need for the constant consumption of oil, no need to continually watch a lantern keeper.

Though he did trade a lantern bearer for a little crow nestling, caught in their cage.

He chuckled at the image in his mind, sliding a finger up to a droplet still sliding down a gash made in the trunk, the “mouth” of the tree dripping less now that it was almost out of resources to give its king.

Bringing the droplet to its concealed maw it delighted in the utter despair this human had displayed, freezing solid in the woods while shards of glass had shredded feet of the young adult who had escaped here trying to find an out from a bad situation.

They had not gotten far before their body gave out.

_“Well now, I have a nestling in a tree to feed, A good day to you.”_

As they walked and the sun began to cast in their way they slipped in and out of different shadows, silent as the night consuming the day while they noted the oddness in their kingdom.

It seemed spring had come and was already upon them.

They were delighted with that progress. Perhaps their nestling deserved a treat for being so good?

* * *

 

When the Beast entered, he almost regretted that he did not stop himself from getting up and walking closer.

Was he so lonely that this was what he wanted? Yes, it absolutely was. No one loved or even liked him before, that was abundantly clear.so he looked up at the beast and waited for him to speak first, surprised back into a flinch when the beast reached out a hand, spindly fingers ending in tipped talons, slightly hooked like a bird of prey  softly and gently swirled in among brown  locks that made his eyes flutter closed even as the smell of flowers drifted around him.

The Beast was silent as he tilted Wirt’s head by the chin, lifting and inspecting it before chuckling and offering Wirt its hand.

 

“Why?”

The scepticism dripped out of him, he normally ate with the Beast here in his room and the beast left, unless he needed to bathe, he did not really leave, all his needs were met.

_“My, curious are you not little nestling? Well, it appears I have a gift for you unless you do not want - “_

“I would love it!”

His face flushed rose pink as the Beast laughed and took his hand, he followed in silence and kept his head down. He liked getting gifts from the Beast, they often were useful or alleviated his boredom…he only got them when he was “good” as the Beast put it.

He still would mess up, the Beast had rules, no fighting him, no flinching away, listen to all orders, eat when told and those were just the basics. He had accidentally broken one just now really, he could not help it when taloned fingers came so close, though he was quick to correct now.

“H-have I done something good?”

_“Indeed, you have…. now I need you to cover your eyes and do not open them, no matter what unless told to. If you disobey you know the punishments.”_

“Y..yes, sir…”

He would avoid being left all alone for weeks on end for anything now…to loose even these small visits broke something inside him, food just  appeared and he was left in solitude completely…and after being punished for a week the Beast would come back and gently rub his back as he sobbed and told them he was sorry.

It was his fault for breaking the rules after all.

So even as he felt the shock of cold on his body, he did not open his eyes.

Even as he felt things being slid upon him.

When ordered to open his eyes he saw a mirror in front of him as a circlet of silver interlocking flowers and leaves was set upon his head.

A vest  of black over a white dress shirt with a soft ruffle to  the sleeves his cape attached in the front with  a  chain of silver interlocking leaves a white ruffled ascot with a deep blue gem set in the centre rested at  his neck  Below the silver buttons on his black vest, soot grey pants rested at his hips. They fit his form well and only gained more of a poof due to the high boots he was now wearing. Like the kind of outfit, you would see on a fairy tale prince.

Though he also was intrigued by his hair, because growing from it were soft white petals from a flower he had never seen before. He could feel that they were a part of him as he gently stroked his head and bumped his fingers against the circlet while giving the Beast a puzzled look.

The Beast only took his face in its hands and stroked his cheeks, all while looking at him and making his head pleasantly fuzzy.

_“There we are, don’t you so look like the little prince you have become, come sit with me.”_

They gestured a hand to a table with two chairs and a bottle of wine, two wine glasses sat on the tabletop as well.

“Okay, but I kinda like the touching…more?”

He could not find it in himself to be embarrassed when he got like this, the beast laughed and he let a grin slide onto his face, that laugh was nice. It rumbled through him like a peal of thunder.

 

_“If that is what my little princeling would like, perhaps after we toast and drink to your health, we can discuss more on the matter.”_

 

He smiled as he nodded with vigour before following the Beast and taking a seat.

He watched the Beast’s eyes, so pretty, like dancing fire, nothing like his dull Grey ones.

He did not really notice the wine was Black, the Beast easily drew his eyes everywhere but to what he was now lifting in a toast before putting to his lips.

 

The new Prince of the wood was now fully complete as he drained his cup while his cohort encouraged him to drink more.


	7. Gladiolus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW! Nothing actually happens but Be warned someone tries to do something to Wirt. (inappropriate non-consensual touching)  
> Also mild gore.  
> And trauma
> 
> “Come lost souls and wander in my garden,  
> I have a place prepared just for you.  
> Longing and loss are easily forgotten,  
> When you become one with the earth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoot, Wirt got a bit dark...did I mention he is getting messed up? yeahhhhh...  
> Well, here it is, the fabled double update!  
> Enjoy!

Fire: It was consuming him, he could feel its burning flame licking over his bones as they were refined by the flame, it felt like that flame would come bursting out of his skull as it blazed into his brain.

He let out a cry and gripped his head, he had long since crumbled to his knees in the pain he now felt.

An exquisite pain that left him panting and weak.

He could hear a deep baritone that soothed over his anguish as the fire settled to a blaze behind his eyes.

The voice was like the cool winter there to protect him from the heat that threatened to consume him.

When he finally stopped whimpering and shaking on the floor, he could feel arms that had no right to feel as strong and comforting as they did lift him to smooth darkness that swirled about him now.

The Beast.

In his mind he was quite upset, the beast gave him a drink that had HURT. It had physically hurt; however, he was too weak to truly put up much of a fight so he set his gaze up towards the king of decay with a glare.

* * *

 

however that little pouty glare on his boyish face truly was the least threatening thing he had seen in his long years.

The next thing to come over them though was awe, for the prince’s eyes glittered and swirled like liquid silver, deadly mercury pools that had been refined in the flames of the lantern as the souls merged with the first true fuel source, they had given the sapling.

**_“Oh, do not be so upset. It is better that I did this now than you trying on your own later and be alone in your weakened state.”_ **

Wirt opened and closed his mouth, eyes glittering with understanding and he turned his head down to pout more.

That would not do.

With pads of fingertips rather than the tips of their claws, he lifted up that face so those eyes met his.

**_“Beautiful.”_ **

He could see the crimson flowering over pale cheeks and stopped the head shake that the prince was about to commit to.

**_“My prince, you are indeed beautiful, a flower in a garden of weeds, though perhaps it will do better to show you?”_ **

With fluid strides, they were back facing the mirror and they delighted in Wirt’s gasp at his appearance. It really was the eyes he was sure, though the claws Wirt sported seemed a bit sharper and his general air changed to something more akin to that of a deer than a young man, it made him approachable, he looked soft and gentle. Easy prey.

No one else knew they were truly in danger until it was too late.

* * *

 

He let out a contented sigh stretching his body out on the grass as the warmth of the sun covered him. It had been a few days since the change and he was feeling a little better, though he still could not really move that much so the Beast had taken to carrying him to and fro. It led to his bold request of being able to go outside and draw.

 

The Beast had been reluctant but knew Wirt could not really escape so he let Wirt start spending his days outdoors. Wirt’s fingers found the hem of the silk he was draped with today, white and soft, pinned like a tunic because he lacked the power to even properly dress at the moment so…

He tried to stop his thoughts as his face turned crimson, he did not need the added embarrassment in the knowledge that the Beast had dressed him and undressed him.

Though his companion never really said anything or touched him in any way that one would deem as inappropriate, it was more like the nurses or care staff in a hospital helping the infirmed.

 

Part of him hated that, wanted something though he was befuddled as to what.

_“Had I the heavens embroidered cloths,_

_Enwrought with golden and silver light,_

_The blue and the dim and the dark cloths_

_Of night and light and the half-light,_

_I would spread the cloths under your feet:_

_But I, being poor, have only my dreams;_

_I have spread my dreams under your feet;_

_Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”_

 

Heaving out a sigh he wondered If Yeats would have been so strangely melancholy. Over a monster no less, pull yourself together Walter!

In his need to get himself calm he did not really pay notice to the heavy footfalls that came towards him until he was faced with dark boots in the line of his vision.

Raising up his head  to look at the person standing above him he saw a man in his late twenties to be sure, ruddy in the cheeks from alcohol and in military garb of days gone by, his voice was deep, but not deep enough  for Wirt, it was not the baritone he now enjoyed like one does fine wine.

 

“What is a pretty young man like you doing out all alone so close to sunset?”

He wrinkled his nose, he did not  want to hear this from this young soldier, he wanted another to call him that…and even though he was afraid he steeled his will and spoke, a soft voice like the chiming of bells in a Christmas choir, like a prayer to the heavens for safety and mercy.

 

_“I am waiting for someone; they will come soon.”_

The soldier sneered and crouched down towards him, the smell of honeyed mead on him hung like a heavy cloud. Truly the drunk would not take the hint.

“Really? Who would leave a small frail thing like yourself out in the middle of the woods? Not someone who cares about ya.”

Wirt’s glare pinned the man and he looked a little taken aback by the venom dripping from the beauty in front of him.

_“That was by my own request, I wanted to enjoy the sun rather than be housebound. They will return shortly now good evening to you **sir**.” _

 

Still not catching the hint the soldier drew closer and Wirt now began to panic, he did not want this…he was scared. He began to hyperventilate.

Panic was lacing him, he felt hands roam his body, not smooth and inhuman but calloused human hands.

**Disgusting.**

His heart thudded and the fire blazed in him as a song landed on his tongue

_“Come lost souls and wander in my garden,_

_I have a place prepared just for you._

_Longing and loss are easily forgotten,_

_When you become one with the earth.”_

 

The moment the last word was said the roots came, binding the young soldier who now was screaming in horror while the roots found purchase in his eyes, ears and mouth, his skull burst open and black seeds littered the ground.

The growth was rapid as the carcass was eaten by the earth, roots and seeds blooming into a blackened floral outline of where the soldier once was.

Wirt was left trying not to throw up and tears ran down his face, his robe half off the upper half of his body.

Something terrible had been so close to happening and he could not stop it until…

Until what? What had happened he just could not explain, he sang and then…this…

 

He felt numb as the sunset and the shadow of the Beast knelt down.

Wirt whimpered eyes of liquid silver blooming tears as he looked upon the perfect shadow that was the Beast.

His only companion dried his tears and rubbed his back after righting the skewed tunic.  He looked at Wirt with pride and the flowers…a deep contempt that made something inside Wirt delight.

The Beast cared…one look at the situation was enough to know what could have happened.

 

“ **My princeling, you are safe. You Made something rather lovely even out of filth…now then…are you hurt?”**

_“I…My king…I am scared…I am not hurt…Just…I did not want…he almost…”_

The Beast hushed him and picked him up, cradling his form, in the darkness that protected him from the eyes of mortals

 Wirt had called him his king…Poor little prince, he needed care and tenderness now. Though being called that stirred something in them as they slid as a shadow towards their home.

 

_“S-stay with me tonight?”_

It was a humble request, a simple and pure plead that The Beast nodded to just as simply and slid over to a chair to sit and cradle his seedling to sleep.

 

The unknown was their garden, how dare a weed try to choke his flower.

As Wirt nodded into oblivion, he felt the tree groaning about them, changing and shifting

The King of winter would not have his prince hurt again.

* * *

 


	8. Alstroemeria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The caged bird sings  
> with a fearful trill  
> of things unknown  
> but longed for still  
> and his tune is heard  
> on the distant hill  
> for the caged bird  
> sings of freedom."  
> -Excerpt from Caged Bird  
> by Maya Angelou

The sun-kissed Wirt’s features as he turned upon his perch, his nose scrunched up and he sneezed softly before trying to roll back over and sleep only to find himself burrowing his face into fabric…it smelled like walking through the woods during autumn, the scent of leaves decaying slightly sweet yet not unpleasant and it set the scent of fire off well.

It made him hum and he really wanted to bury his whole body in the smell and revel in how safe it made him feel yet something was yanking at the back of his mind telling him to wake himself up. Like the drive of adrenaline, a deer feels before a wolf. Something was screaming at him that he was unsafe, though he could not imagine why. He cracked open an eye and was met with swirling darkness.

Even opening his other eye did nothing to offset the perpetual night swirling against his vision.  

He panicked for a moment before the realization that he was smothering his face against a smooth almost fluid fabric hit him. Then the texture hit him and he was all too awake, turning his body with a jolt only to gasp as he felt himself fall from the lap of the beast as he squinted up at the blue sky.

He was weightless for a few glorious moments before he was caught, cradled in darkened boughs of dead trees and broken dreams that he knew all too well were an extension of his companion.

In his hazy sleepy state, he found himself stroking one of the branches that had caught him before the Beast spoke and made him perk up like a flower after a storm.

**_“I see you are not yet fully awake my princeling.”_ **

Wirt looked up at the beast and all he wanted was to return to the place he had been before, he suddenly felt vulnerable as his mind started to catch up with him the events of the day prior.

Had it always been so hard to breathe? The air was thick like it wanted him to choke to death for the very audacity he still had to try and continue breathing.  Inhale and exhale and inhale and exhale, arms came to pluck him from his fear and he looked into the blaze of colours his companion had for eyes. Inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale. The Beast sang to him, what song he did not know, nor would he remember, the action is what was calming him not the singing itself.

The king of decay stroked his hair and let him bury his fingers into the shadow that permeated its existence, the cape of shadow wrapping around him and providing an odd comfort that he was not used to yet all too willing to let himself be smothered in. If only he could be as strong as the beast perhaps, he would have been safe, but he was not the beast and he wanted to cling to the humanity he may still have within himself.

The hope of a fool maybe, but it was his hope and it brought a small flicker of something shooting through his chest.

_“my king…don’t leave me…please.”_

Even to his ears his voice was small yet the Beast did not put him down or reprimand him for his behaviour and in Wirt’s moment of weakness, the siren of sleep caught him once more.

* * *

The King heaved a sigh and arranged himself upon the garden swing, pulling silks up over his cohort.

Sometimes the prince was much too cute for his own good, quite a disarming feature to the Beast to say the least. Still the garden with high ivy walls and hidden in brambles that now surrounded the tree should give the prince a way to stretch his legs and enjoy the outdoors while keeping him safe and fools out.

Truly they had not meant to become so possessive, Wirt had been a means to an end before, but now they found themselves so inextricably linked together there was an inkling of fear to their actions.

Much like how they were fearful over the lantern going out they now had fear over Wirt being lost to them. 

That is what spawned the garden. The tree sitting in the centre of the high walls as flowers bloomed wildly and grass was left unchecked, a pond sat nearby and the swing they sat upon was an extension of the tree, suspended by thorny vines it wove the blackened wood into a high backed swinging chair that even the beast could lounge in if they so desired, though it would be unlikely they would rest here.

No, they had to keep things in check within the unknown, make certain all the denizens were still marginally oblivious to the change.

But they knew they would soon find out and perhaps word had spread, they could not keep up an illusion of their normal “spring” of yellow-brown grass and barely alive trees around forever, soon someone would know that There was something more happening in the unknown and then…well they could only hope to have Wirt tied so close to them the young man would never wish to leave.

**_“Ah, but you would not be able to for long would you little one? ~”_ **

They could not help the delight that they felt as they pressed a palm to Wirt’s cheek that the young man eagerly nuzzled against.

**_“You have come to quite enjoy my company. What a good little prince.”_ **

Wirt’s contented sigh was a delightful sound and it made them covet more. What other sounds would this young man make for them one day? They would love to find more daily, for now, though it would do well to let the young prince rest and keep him close.

Wirt was theirs; nothing would stop or end that, they were bound by a deal forged in flame.  

* * *

The weeks drifted for him in a blur, did time mean anything anymore? The Beast was attentive to his needs over this time and often would move him from his room to the garden and back again as night painted the sky with her stars. Something inside Wirt screamed as he was moved from one cage to another yet he could not feel too upset, he had earned the cage by his actions.

The Beast was just trying to help him.

Today he had been able to move and put on his own clothing, his princely attire still feeling strange after the time spent wearing only tunics and robes, yet there he was laying on the grass and enjoying the feeling of the warmth of the sun.  

His dark companion had long since left for some reason unknown to Wirt, yet he spent his time delighting in the feel of living grass and warm sun, inhaling the smells of pollen and life. He could not help his excitement as he got up and saw ducks on the pond, he wished he had something to give them, they looked so soft and pure white like the clouds floating in the sky.

It was a good hour into his duck watching when he heard a muffled sound that broke him from his reverie. With a groan, he got up and paced around the edges of the perimeter, dark brambles as far as he could see but as the noise got more pronounced, he started to recognize it.

_“A child…crying?”_

He started loping towards the sound with even strides as he saw something…a little Green Ball on the ground and a small arm stuck in a little hole in the wall. Drawing closer and trying to be quiet he saw trickles of blood where the thorns caught the small arm.

Something in his heart tightened and felt like it would burst as he listened to the child feebly struggle against the brambles, the ball long forgotten.

Crouching down Wirt did not know if he should speak first but thought better of it as he looked at his clawed fingers, what child would be comforted by his voice while seeing claws? No, he carefully wrapped the child’s wrist with his hand to still it and winced as he heard the scream of pure terror the child emitted, like the sound of a siren alerting anyone that he was wrong for just being.

He began his work removing thorns and cutting the gap a bit wider with his free hand as he pushed the child out of his cage. Inch by inch the child was becoming unstuck, then with a final push and a small gasp from the other side of the brambles the small human was free.

Looking down at the ball Wirt picked it up and stuck his hand through the gap, opening his palm he waited, he could hear the stifled breathing as the child debated their choice to take the Ball then after what felt like an eternity he felt small warm hands near his and he did his best not to flinch away from the contact that reminded him of something he thought was long forgotten.

He expected the child to have left but was surprised to see the ball roll back through the gap just as he had gotten up. He once more put his hand through the gap to offer the child their ball back, but this time he felt the child carefully press fingers to his claws.

“your hands are weird. Are you some kinda monster?”

Wirt did flinch at that but there was no malice in the tone, the child, obviously a boy now that he had heard him speak out of the throws of panic, asked him this with such awe that he chuckled remembering another young lad who would have thought his hands looked cool even amidst fear.

_“No, but I am not sure what I am either…Are you okay?”_

his voice was much softer than he thought it should be but the child did not seem to mind.

“Thanks for helping me! I thought I was gonna have to chew my arm off like when that squirrel got caught in one of dad’s traps!”

Wirt blinked in surprise and a laugh bubbled out of him at the oddness of this boy.

_“Well, I hope that you never have to do that, it sounds unappetizing.”_

Their back and forth continued and the boy had told him his name, which was George and how his father was a trapper and his mother helped by selling the pelts at the market, that is where he had gotten his ball. George told him they did not live too far away from here and complained about the grass being all scratchy which puzzled Wirt.  

Wirt had not said much about himself, content to listen when the boy asked for a name he froze up and stumbled over his words.

_“My name does not really matter.”_

George had gasped and told him; “It does too matter you silly! But that’s okay, I will give you one!”

George had given him the name “Nemo” from a book his parents had found and were reading to him.

“It is a really good book!  I wanna be a captain one day and sail the seas!”

Wirt felt warm and strangely happy at the notion of George being a sailor and fulfilling his dreams.

_“I am sure you will be a great sailor one day George, but it is getting late and the sun will start to set soon so you best go home.”_

George had groaned but he slipped the ball back through the hole.

“Here Nemo! So, you know I will come back!”

Wirt could cry at the sweetness of the sentiment and without hesitation brought a hand to his head and plucked a flower from his hair, it hurt like being pinched but it was minimal and he made a little ring out of the flower with a blade of grass.

_“George, hold out your hand, I have a gift for you too.”_

He heard the boy gasp as he placed the ring on the child’s palm.

“Nemo…I have never seen grass that is green like this and soft…or…or an actual flower outside of pictures in books! You are amazing!  But I gotta go, see you tomorrow Nemo!”  

 

Wirt felt oddly sad as he heard the boy leave and scramble away, still, he hid the ball inside the small gap and hoped the beast would not notice it. He stood and smiled as he made his way back to the tree.

George was coming tomorrow.

He would not feel so lonely.

The Beast did not need to know.

It was fine to have friends, right?

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maya Angelou is fast becoming my poet of this series. Seriously Caged Bird is so amazing I highly recommend it!  
> Sorry for the wait, I was really busy!  
>  I did plan for Wirt to start to break some of his constraints.  
> Secrets from the Beast? that can only end well I am sure wirt.  
> Alstroemeria really sums up George well I think. He is Greg like, but also Different in other ways...Wirt and George could start a book club, Greg would have drawn on the books out of boredom eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are, In a pretty dead fandom, yet that is where I thrive yo! now to finish up some other chapters! love y' all! and enjoy this little messed up soiree.


End file.
